Imperfect Socialite
by ThePranksterQueens
Summary: Lily Evans is not rich.James Potter is, which makes him perfectly acceptable at Hogwarts.When Lily is awarded a scholarship for her intelligence,she must overcome obstacles and prove to everyone who she really is.


James Potter was wizarding nobility. Lily Evans was the social equivalent to dirt on wizarding society's shoe. But when Lily is accepted into Hogwarts for her intelligence, she never expected to have to compete like this. And James Potter treating her like she's filth doesn't help at all.

Chapter One

Disclaimer- Don't own it, never will.

" Wow." whispered Lily Evans , staring at the tall towers of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, her red hair whipping in the breeze. She couldn't believe she was here , at Hogwarts. It taken her two years just to get her application through, and another one to convince the Headmaster that she was worthy enough to attend the school on a scholarship. All in all, that left enough time to start and finish seventh year here. It wasn't that much time, but as long as she could put that she was a graduate of Hogwarts on her resume, it pretty much gave her a ton of leverage of any other job competitors.

" Can I help you?" came an arrogant voice from behind her.

Lily turned around to face what she thought was probably one of the best looking guys she'd ever seen. Jet-black messy hair, gorgeous hazel eyes , and tan skin. Well, as tan as England could get.

" Yeah… ummm, I'm looking for Professor Dumbledore's office? Do you know where it is?"

" I was sent down here to get you. Follow me." said The Boy, ignoring her question.

They walked up the gateway, past the Forbidden Forest and the Quidditch field ( not that Lily's guide pointed this out- she had practically memorized Hogwarts, A History) and finally up six flights of stairs, stopping at a giant stone gargoyle.

" The password is 'sherbet ice cream'. Bye." And then he left leaving Lily feeling extremely stupid standing in the hallway.

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" Well then, err, sherbet ice cream." The gargoyle sprang to life, allowing her to pass. As she stepped into Dumbledore's office, she noted how remarkably bare it was. ' He must be new' thought Lily.

" Good Day, Miss Evans." said a deep voice from behind her. Lily jumped about a foot in the air. What was with today and people sneaking up on her?

" The same to you , Professor."

" I won't use pleasantries with you , Ms. Evans. You are aware of your requirements?'

" Yes, sir."

" You must remain all good grades, nothing under Acceptable. You will not get into trouble. You will not tarnish this school's reputation, are we clear? I am being extremely generous letting someone like yourself attend Hogwarts." ( A/N: I know, I made Dumbledore mean, but for the sake of the plot, I had to. Don't kill me!)

" Yes, sir." Someone like yourself. Why didn't Dumbledore say it straight out? ' Miss Evans, you are poor, but you are smart. You will be accepted only on the condition that you maintain a 4.0 grade average, and remain a perfect young lady in front of others. If you fail to do so, I will not hesitate to kick you out and expose you for what you really are; a low, poor, commoner in the eyes of most people here.' Okay, maybe that was a little harsh, but it was the principle of the thing. Lily's family couldn't afford to pay the tuition, thanks to a plummeting stock market, so she didn't have nice clothes or two thousand dollar diamond earrings that most people here had. Hogwarts was for the socially elite, the richest of the rich, and not necessarily the smartest crayons in the box. But Lily was prepared to do anything to stay in this school, even she to clean the whole castle for some extra money.

" You will now be sorted, Ms. Evans. Sit down and let the Sorting Hat do its work."

" Well, well, well…. Smart, a little cunning, nice, and above all, bravery. Yes, better be GRYFFINDOR!" She jumped about a foot in the air and handed Dumbledore back the old hat. He looked mildly surprised about the hat's choice, but said nothing. Dumbledore gave Lily her uniforms and her schoolbooks, and gave her the password to her dormitory, which was ' Pride' and informed her that she would be living by herself, due to her situation. Lily was oddly happy about his because it meant she could be herself and not worry if she brushed her hair wrong or something equally stupid she didn't care about.

She walked all the way to her dorm at the top of Gryffindor Tower, ignoring the curious stares of all it's other occupants and dropped off her two trunks. She fell backwards on her bed, hair spreading out behind her. She exhaled slowly. She was here, at Hogwarts. She had done what her family had gently told her was impossible. Now all she had to do was prove it to these rich snobs. With that thought fresh in her mind, she change into her new uniform, made a few changes- the skirt was way too long, and the top too loose- and walked down to the Great Hall for dinner.

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James, along with the whole student body, stared as Lily walked into the hall. He didn't deny that she was unattractive, but her uniform looked out of the ordinary, though he couldn't quite place why. Most Hogwarts girls had saved their uniforms so they were shorter and tighter, but Lily seemed to fill hers out, though she couldn't have gotten it but moments ago. Also, most girls usually wore their hair braided ad every girl wore flat mary-janes with their uniforms, making them look like an army of uniformed… people. However, Lily wore her long, deep red hair down, letting it fall down her back in waves at the ends. She had some kind of muggle shoe on, written all over and with bright red laces. She glanced around and James noticed her frowning in his direction. Hopefully she wasn't in Gryffindor. Then he noticed her walking over to their table. Damn.

Lily walked in slowly, trying not to get too much attention. Too late. Everyone was staring at her, but she kept her head held high and tried not to blush. She tried to find the Gryffindor table and to her great surprise and displeasure, found her tour guide sitting there. Crap. She had a feeling he was the big man on campus, the one all the girls wanted to be with and all the guys wanted to be. Which didn't bode well for her, seeing as how he clearly regarded her as too low to even tell her his name. Oh well- even if he wasn't polite, she would be. Unless he said something utterly stupid and set off the world-famous redhead temper that Lily possessed in a very large amount.

The only available spot was next to Tour Guide and his friends, a fat boy, and very hot guy, and a guy who would have been very good looking, had it not been for the sadness in his golden eyes. Well, she had dealt with sadness, and through the sadness was friendliness. She bravely went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, and when he saw her he smiled, for which Lily was relieved.

" Hi, I'm Lily Evans, and I'm new here…could I sit down?" she asked, trying to keep from sweating. What if he said no? Could he tell she was afraid? If she was turned down now, it set the bar for how everyone would treat her.

" Sure. I'm Remus Lupin, by the way. And this is James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew." He pointed to Tour Guide, the really hot guy, and the fat boy who Lily wouldn't guessed to even be in seventh year. He scooted over, making room for her to sit. She somewhat unhappily noticed that she was surrounded by guys and the girls were giving her death glares. She threw them right back, and with ten times the anger. Dumbledore couldn't kick her out for not making friends, only for failing classes. And certainly didn't count on doing that.

" So, where did you go to school?" Lily sighed. Let the Spanish Inquisition begin.

" A small school in London, nothing like this. Do you know if they have electricity here? Because I brought some stuff with me and I need a plug for it." Hopefully radios and muggle gadgetry weren't outlawed here, because a Lily without her music is very angry Lily.

" No, they don't. but maybe you could use a temporary electricity charm?" suggested Remus, ignoring the repeated smacks on his back by James. " Can I help you Prongs? Or are you going to play the drums on my back all day?"

" Moony, all I wanted was for you to pass the potatoes… and of course I also want Evans to move out of our spot." He narrowed his eyes in her direction. He didn't like this girl, at all. She was new and when you were new at Hogwarts, you had to pass unanimous Marauder approval to even sit at their table, let alone with them.

Lily was starting to feel her temper fizz under her nerves. He'd better watch out or he would get something from Lily he wouldn't soon forget. Because she was in a good mood, Lily decided to give him a second chance. 

" What did you just say?" She fought to keep her voice even. Her temper was close to boiling, and she gave a sidelong glance to the dish of mashed potatoes.

" I said, go back to where you came from. Nobody wants you here. You're nothing but a-"

The rest of his sentence was never heard, as Lily picked up the mashed potatoes as slammed them full-force into his face, cutting off all sounds. He made a disgusted noise and wiped off his glasses, sending little blobs of potato flying.

" the rest of the school may bow down to you Potter, but I will not. Get it through your head, or stay out of my way. You pick." And with that ultimatum delivered, she walked out the great hall, fiery tresses swinging behind her.

A/N: well? Did you like it? Please review, I won't update until I have at least five! And now my chapters will be getting longer, because I have only two days of school left! So please, review and tell me what you think! 


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